Live Podcast: Featured Guest Zoë Keating, Cellist and Composer

Zoë Keating, Photo By: Jeffrey Rusch

This week we have a special treat on The A-List, a wonderful, one-woman powerhouse of a musician, Zoë Keating.

Recently named one of the Hot 20 people of 2009 by 7×7 magazine, they dubbed her, “Avant-Cellist.” It’s a fitting description, but for my part, I am interested in the way Zoë has used the Web and social media to engage with and stay in touch with her fans.

With more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter (@zoecello), she describes herself there as, “Cello, computers and pancakes. The daily twitterings of a professional avant cellist and amateur nerd.” A wonderfully humble description for an immense and innovative talent.

I am thrilled Zoë was able to join the program. Listen to the archive here:

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Events: Catalyzing Social Media Campaigns

Cassandra Phillipps

This is a guest post by Cassandra Phillipps, an event producer for the Bay Area startup community. She produces FailCon, co-produces Girls in Tech Catalyst Conference, and production manages SF Beta, SF MusicTech Summit and Finance4Founders. She also keeps a blog on upcoming startup events and event advice at webwallflower.com You can follow her on Twitter @webwallflower. She has been a featured guest on The A-List podcast.

As the economy improves, more companies have been approaching me asking about the costs associated with producing a conference or a series of evening panels, and what the benefits would be for them. It’s as if something in their entrepreneurial brains tells them this is a good step for their businesses, but they just aren’t sure why.

Events Increase the Power of Social Media

As social media grows and connects businesses, communities, and individuals on a global scale, the time given for in-person interactions dwindles. While I 100% endorse companies using twitter to connect with customers, or LinkedIn to talk with clients, there will never be a stronger way to develop a loyal bond with your users and community than through events. SnarkMarket puts it well: “The great virtue of events today … is that their value seems durable in a way that the value of super-abundant copies of digital media does not. They pro vide ’embod i ment,’ to use Kevin Kelly’s taxonomy – and that’s some thing you can still charge for.” Done right, events can work with social media to empower and engage users on a smaller but more effective scale.